Study: Gila monster spit reduces food and possibly booze cravings
posted at 6:01 pm on May 19, 2012 by Howard Portnoy
What are you willing to do to shed a few pounds or cut down on your alcohol intake? If your answer to either question is “anything,” then I’m here to tell you there’s a pill for that. It contains Gila monster saliva, but that’s a small sacrifice for those who are serious about fighting the battle of the bulge or climbing up on the wagon.
Sounding like something straight out of Fear Factor, the active ingredient in the drug, exendin-4, is not just lizard drool but venomous lizard drool. Yet, as the Daily Mail reports, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that the drug controls the brain regions that cause us to crave food and, to a lesser extent, booze.
The discovery of the benefits of extendin-4, which is already marketed as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, was a “happy accident.” During tests of the drug on lab rats, researchers noticed that the rodents didn’t have much of an appetite at the end of a day’s work.
Karolina Skibicka, lead author of the study (which is scheduled to appear in the Journal of Neuroscience), is quoted as saying, “This is both an unknown and quite unexpected effect.” She adds:
Our decision to eat is linked to the same mechanisms in the brain which control addictive behaviours.
We have shown that exendin-4 affects the reward and motivation regions of the brain.
Co-researcher Suzanne Dickson told the Mail, “The implications of the findings are significant. Most dieting fails because we are obsessed with the desire to eat, especially tempting foods like sweets. As exendin-4 suppresses the cravings for food, it can help obese people to take control of their weight.”
The team noted that further research on the impact of the compound on alcohol cravings would be needed before they could offer similarly optimistic pronouncements. In the meantime, those looking to kick the habit can attempt to score a supply of WA|HH Quantum Sensations spray, which simulates the effects of drinking (albeit with none of the pleasure).
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My goodness – Schumer told the truth. That’s happened what once, twice in the past 10 years.
gophergirl on May 3, 2013 at 12:03 PM
As designed. In a few years, these same folks will be shrieking that we have to “fix” it with a national VAT, taxing 401ks, etc. It never ends.
JeremiahJohnson on May 3, 2013 at 12:03 PM
PARTIALLY?!?!?!
Gawd how i despise these lying idiot con-artists.
dentarthurdent on May 3, 2013 at 12:03 PM
He was probably temporarily mesmerized by that shiny, shiny camera lens…
trigon on May 3, 2013 at 12:08 PM
I hate Liberals with a burning passion.
Charlemagne on May 3, 2013 at 12:08 PM
My renewal last December in Maryland, which already controls coverages and prices (like the ObamaCare future for everyone) went up 34% at my company. My broker has alerted me already that I should expect that or worse this coming December.
MTF on May 3, 2013 at 12:08 PM
stupid is as stupid does. This clown fits right in with the rest of the circus in DC.
RedInMD on May 3, 2013 at 12:09 PM
What’s that ??
Jabberwock on May 3, 2013 at 12:13 PM
rogerb on May 3, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Instead of repealing it, they’re going to keep it and push forward with it.
Where are our trolls to defend that?
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:14 PM
The only thing about Obamacare that makes me smile is that, for the very first time, liberals are actually going to pay out of their own wallets.
I hope they sleep like babies: Up all night and crying.
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:19 PM
B@stards… lying b@stards…
Khun Joe on May 3, 2013 at 12:23 PM
As Rush always puts it, “Chuck U Schumer.”
Drained Brain on May 3, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Yeah, no frackin’ shiite Schumer! Off topic, does Chuck Schumer look like the Grinch, or is it just me? Also off topic, isn’t his name off by one letter…Chuck Schemer seems more appropriate…
Battlecruiser-operational on May 3, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Partially?
Putz.
coldwarrior on May 3, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Don’t be fooled for a minute. A Dem never does anything except by stealth and the goal was always single payer. This debacle is deliberate because it is unenforceable. The Dems know this and knew this when they shoved it down our throats through a parliamentary trick. Single payer is the goal and at this rate it is heading straight for that.
neyney on May 3, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Well, Schumer is the Americanized version of the old Yiddish Schmutz.
coldwarrior on May 3, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Quite possibly, the individual I most despise in
the U.S. Senate.
ToddPA on May 3, 2013 at 12:34 PM
\
Sadly, with the current public education system this may as well be rocket science.
hopeful on May 3, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Schumer is a greasy, sniveling, filthy Communist.
There is nothing that these filthy pigs don’t want:
They want our guns.
They want our money.
They want our very life [healthcare] decisions.
They want our children.
They want total control.
OhEssYouCowboys on May 3, 2013 at 12:37 PM
He looks like an Imp straight out of the pits of hell.
jawkneemusic on May 3, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Rush is much more demure than I.
Resist We Much on May 3, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Sad, isn’t it, that there so many from which to choose? I have a hard time deciding the Top Five of which to despise the most. Right now, and subject to change, is McCain.
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Yes, you have that particuwar knack of hurting tender wiberwal feewings. ~S~
Happy Friday, Esquire!
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Obama: Premiums Will Decrease 3000% So You Should Get A Raise
munseym on May 3, 2013 at 12:41 PM
Way, way up there on the list of execrable Senators, but Harry Reid is in a class of his own.
The Democrats do have a regular rogues gallery in DC: Dick Durbin, Patty Murray, Bernie Sanders, Claire McCaskill and Fauxcohantas herself. All incredible hacks.
Throat Wobbler Mangrove on May 3, 2013 at 12:41 PM
The next pile to come out of the democrat’s mouths will be, “Hey, it’s patriotic to pay more for insurance premiums!”
Sterling Holobyte on May 3, 2013 at 12:43 PM
Please
stop
giving
them
new
ideas!
:-)
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:45 PM
Health Care 2.0
–bayam
tom daschle concerned on May 3, 2013 at 12:49 PM
bayam?
sesqui?
anyone?
Chuck Schick on May 3, 2013 at 12:51 PM
Like the trolls are going to touch this one…
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 12:51 PM
the University of Houston recently sent out a pledge drive newsletter that highlited her not only as double graduate but also former instructor there, even had the anecdote about her being blocked in an appointment but “getting the last laugh against conservatives” by being elected as senator…killed any incentive I had to participate. blech
DanMan on May 3, 2013 at 12:53 PM
Geez, what a day!
First, I hear this Human parasite actually be truthful,
then, I read where Lindsey Lohan has fired her attorney
and entered rehab!
I really looked up to her, s/c
ToddPA on May 3, 2013 at 12:54 PM
For me it’s generally whichever one I heard speak last.
tommyboy on May 3, 2013 at 1:05 PM
When you turn on the light the roaches scatter….
tommyboy on May 3, 2013 at 1:06 PM
That’s about how I do it. Either that, or a dart board.
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 1:19 PM
Don’t worry azzhat. Your “seperate but equal” healtcare for you and every offspring your brood mare produced won’t go up and they’ll have it for life.
Your “seperate but equal” pension plan for you and your family will also not go up and still exists unlike the trash you foisted on us and looted and replaced with worthless IOUs.
Screw you and your ruling elite ilk.
acyl72 on May 3, 2013 at 1:23 PM
I measure the amount of grease that pools at their feet, after 1 minute at the podium.
OhEssYouCowboys on May 3, 2013 at 1:29 PM
Are you sure it’s grease and not something else?
Liam on May 3, 2013 at 1:31 PM
I’m afraid to ask, so I won’t.
But I’m laughing.
OhEssYouCowboys on May 3, 2013 at 1:35 PM
This is one of those Forward! moments.
tommer74 on May 3, 2013 at 1:39 PM
Dr.s Ben & Ilene Dover have corroborated this story line.
belad on May 3, 2013 at 1:55 PM
Somebody got a thug call from the White House…
The Rogue Tomato on May 3, 2013 at 2:26 PM
EGGSACTLY what happened in the Soviet Union.
The only thing that is missing is the show trial.
I’m sure that they will come, when the Unmade Bed takes the 2016 election, and Marxism becomes the norm.
OhEssYouCowboys on May 3, 2013 at 2:27 PM
He just fell on his “walk-back”
ACA was supposed to LOWER the actual rate. Not slow the rise.
FAILURE !
Jabberwock on May 3, 2013 at 2:29 PM
At United Health Care, there is a massive project underway just to try to enact some level of compliance with upcoming Obamacare regs – it isn’t just the cost involved in implementation, but the cost of simply comprehending the bill that is already sucking millions of dollars out of companies.
Professor_Chaos on May 3, 2013 at 2:37 PM
By 3000%.
BobMbx on May 3, 2013 at 2:49 PM
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Friday walked back his remarks
Somebody got a thug call from the White House…
The Rogue Tomato on May 3, 2013 at 2:26 PM
Schumer probably got a call from his messaging guru who told him what to really say.
bflat879 on May 3, 2013 at 2:54 PM
One of the few growth areas in the REB-economy are Obamacare-compliance consultants.
slickwillie2001 on May 3, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Its worse than that. They support the AARP healthcare project – and AARP is very pro- Obamacare.
I think UHC has sided with the govt. Look out if your employer uses them.
Zomcon JEM on May 3, 2013 at 3:30 PM
Yeah, every now and then they let down their verbal guard and the truth slips out, like Harry Reid referring to the recently defeated Senate gun bill as ‘anti-gun legislation.’
Sen. Ted Cruz called it a Freudian slip. It was a Fluke-up. Like
SchumerSchumer’s.Schumer.
de rigueur on May 3, 2013 at 4:31 PM
Axe on May 3, 2013 at 6:53 PM
Health Care 1.0 – “Die Hard”
Health Care 2.0 – “Die Harder”
:)
Shoot for 3?
Axe on May 3, 2013 at 6:57 PM
(Emphasis mine.)
“If we had not have done this horrible thing, it would have been worse. It’s really, really bad now, but it would have been infinitely worse otherwise.”
Yet another unprovable, unquantifiable statement. You can claim this about anything while doing an incredibly sucky job.
Theophile on May 3, 2013 at 9:51 PM